Christian TV channel launches in Afghanistan despite Taliban curbs

Mozhda TV, believed to be Afghanistan's first dedicated Christian television channel, began satellite broadcasts on Saturday 24 October in a country where the Taliban have banned Christian materials since seizing power in 2021.

The channel is producing programmes for Afghan women, including health series and content designed to help them continue their studies privately from home.

The launch brought together Afghan Christians, church representatives and international mission partners. Organisers described the event as the culmination of decades of prayer and cooperation among Christian ministries.

Shoaib Ebadi, executive director of the Afghanistan Bible Society, addressed the gathering in a prerecorded message. "This day, for the first time in history, the first Afghan Christian satellite channel will start its broadcasting to Afghanistan and around the world," he said.

Masoud Ghorbani, executive director of Mozhda TV, preached a sermon in the opening minutes of the broadcast, drawing on the Gospel of Mark, chapter six, verse 34. He asked viewers what they thought Jesus would see when looking at Afghanistan.

Ghorbani told the audience that millions of Afghans now had an opportunity to encounter the Christian message despite years of suffering and religious restrictions.

The network's leadership also hopes to reach people beyond Christian communities, potentially including members of the Taliban. "We don't know who is watching our program for the first time right now, perhaps even the Taliban," Ghorbani said. "We need to pray for them."

He said producers wanted viewers to know that "the Lord loves them" and to "hold on to hope."

Production began months before the launch, with episodes recorded for broadcast since March.

Ghorbani explained the choice of satellite in an earlier interview with Finnish outlet Sansa. "Almost everyone has a television and a satellite dish at home," he said. "The Taliban control the country, but they cannot control the satellites."

Mozhda TV currently broadcasts in Dari and Pashto and intends to add Hazaragi, Uzbek, Turkmen and Baluchi. The expansion would allow viewers from different ethnic and linguistic communities to watch in their native languages.

Producer Mikael Tunér outlined the approach. "Our strategy is to make at least some program in every language, so that every viewer could find something to watch in their own heart language," he said.

Tunér also stressed the importance of Afghan Christians presenting the programmes themselves. He told the same outlet that underground congregations persist in Afghanistan, with several thousand believers remaining despite Taliban claims that no Christians live there.

Christian workers largely left the country following the takeover, and periodic internet disruptions have since limited access to outside information.

Shortly after imposing Sharia law in September 2021, the Taliban ordered high schools to reopen only for boys and male teachers. Girls over the age of 12 lost the right to continue their education.

Women were prohibited from attending university in December 2022, and UNESCO estimates that 2.4 million Afghan girls have been barred from secondary education.

No Taliban response to the launch had been publicly reported at the time of writing. Whether the authorities will move against the broadcasts is unknown.